


Interim

by WorryinglyInnocent



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling, Belle for Mayor, F/M, Mayor for a Day, Season 3, Season 3 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 10:36:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15817179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorryinglyInnocent/pseuds/WorryinglyInnocent
Summary: Whilst Rumpelstiltskin and the others are away in Neverland, Storybrooke holds elections for an interim mayor and sheriff, and Belle is encouraged to throw her hat into the ring.Written for the @a-monthly-rumbelling prompt: Mayor for a day





	Interim

It quickly became apparent, once the mission to Neverland to save Henry was underway, that the small town of Storybrooke was in dire need of leadership.

When Belle walked into the diner to get breakfast on the second morning of Rumpelstiltskin’s absence, she immediately became aware of three things. Firstly, Granny had her crossbow out and was aiming it across the counter. Secondly, the diner was three times as noisy as it normally was on a Tuesday morning. And finally, the reason for the previous two things was because two grown men were rolling around on the floor in the middle of the diner in a full-on hair-pulling fight.

“I’d call the sheriff but both she and the deputy are in another realm,” Granny said as Belle side-stepped the crowd and came over to the counter. “Honestly, as soon as all the authority figures leave, the entire town goes to ruin.”

Belle slid onto a seat at the counter to wait for her pancakes, studiously ignoring the brawl going on behind her as Granny went to break it up.

“I think we need an interim mayor and sheriff,” Ruby observed, coming over to sit beside Belle whilst waiting for orders. “Someone to keep the peace when Emma and the others aren’t around, I mean. David and Regina were just about able to handle things last time, but if they’re not here either then I think we’re a bit stuck.”

Belle glanced over her shoulder at the melee.

“I think Granny could do a good job as sheriff,” she said.

Ruby shook her head. “Nah, she won’t leave the diner. I think you could do it, though.”

Belle looked over her shoulder as Granny began to pull the two men apart and summarily throw them out of the diner, then turned back to Ruby with an incredulous expression.

“I really don’t think that I’m the best person to be sheriff.”

“Well, maybe not sheriff, you’d get lost in a crowd, no offence. But I think that you could be mayor.”

“Really?”

Ruby nodded enthusiastically. “I think you could do it. Everyone in the town likes you, and you’ve always got sensible solutions for everything. You found Hook’s ship after all, and you know your own mind, but you still listen to other people and see the good in them all the time. I think that these are all things that a mayor needs.”

Having got rid of the two brawlers, Granny came back to the counter and stowed her crossbow back underneath it.

“I’d support you in your bid for mayor,” she said.

“Granny, we haven’t even organised interim elections yet, let alone who’ll be running in them.” Belle pointed out, and she sighed. “I don’t know. Do you really think that people would listen to me?”

“Of course.” Leroy dragged his stool closer along the bar to join in the conversation. “I think that you’d have more support than you think if you ran for mayor. I’m behind you, for a start, and I know that Astrid would be.”

Belle looked down at her tea, stirring it thoughtfully as she wondered at the possibility.

“Well, since no-one else seems to have put any thought into organising interim elections, I don’t see why we shouldn’t,” she said. “After all, I think we really do need someone in charge, as today’s altercations have just proved.”

Leroy grinned broadly. “You go for it, Belle,” he said. “I’ll get some posters done up this afternoon. Belle for Mayor.”

Belle felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“Thanks, Leroy,” she mumbled. “Your support means a lot.”

He just patted her arm as he slid off his bar stool and went to get started on Belle’s election campaign.

X

Between them, Granny, Ruby and Belle managed to get the interim election sorted about as smoothly as could be expected when the entire town had been used to Regina running the show single-handed for the last three decades or so. The elections were slated for Sunday, with Granny turning the spare rooms in the bed and breakfast into makeshift polling booths.

All in all, Belle had found the experience to be very exhilarating, and the fact that it had given her something to focus on in Rumpel’s absence was even better. Since she had not been in the town as long as the rest of them - well, not in the general population at large - most of her time in Storybrooke had revolved around Rumpel, and now she had the chance to do something independent of him and leave her own mark on the world. She hoped that he would be proud of her, at least prouder of her than her father, who had just looked at her incredulously when she had gone into Game of Thorns to canvas for votes.

Leroy and Astrid had made a wonderful little campaign team, tirelessly going door to door with Astrid’s undampened enthusiasm keeping the three of them cheerful even when the weather turned against them and when people were closing doors in their faces, unwilling and uninterested in having a say in how their town would be run for the foreseeable future.

It was the night before election day and Belle was lying in bed in her little apartment above the library; it felt wrong to stay in Rumpel’s house when they hadn’t officially started living together again before he left town. He had invited her to stay whilst she had been Lacey, but Belle thought that was more to do with making sure that Lacey didn’t do anything that Belle would regret in the morning.

“Oh Rumpel,” she sighed. “I wish that you could see me now and look at all that I’ve achieved. Even if I don’t win tomorrow, at least I can be sure that I actually did something that made a difference in the world. All the things that I wanted to do, that we talked about in the Dark Castle; I’m finally doing them, and I wish that you were here to see me.”

She turned over and looked at the wall, furrowing her brow at the shadows there. She could have sworn that one of them just moved independently of everything else in the room.

“Rumpel?” she whispered. “Is that you?”

The shadow didn’t move again, and Belle closed her eyes with a shiver, trying not to think about what supernatural forces might be at work. The election was tomorrow, and she was up against stiff competition in the form of the former King Midas and former High Judge Frollo. Belle had been in this world long enough to know that middle-aged men definitely had more of a chance in these things than young women did, but she wasn’t going to let that get her down.

All the same, she would have felt much happier if she’d had Rumpel by her side to support her.

X

The election for Sheriff was easy. Steve, the man who had been Snow and Charming’s chief of guards back in the Enchanted Forest, was running unopposed.

The election for mayor, however, needed three recounts and even then, Midas and Frollo weren’t entirely convinced about the result.

With a four-vote margin, Belle was voted in as interim mayor for however long it might take Regina to return.

Naturally, no-one had anticipated Regina returning the very next day – along with all the rest of those who had gone to Neverland, as well as Henry and some other newcomers.

“Well, at least I didn’t have time to redecorate or rearrange all the furniture,” Belle said with a sigh as she looked around the mayoral office that she had only occupied for one day. She hadn’t even had time to bring in any of her own stationery; the sole thing that she had to remove from the office was a novelty stapler in the shape of a crocodile that Leroy had bought her from the drugstore to celebrate her victory.

“There’s always next time, you know,” Rumpel said as they made their way out of the town hall and back along the road towards the pawn shop. Belle was rather disappointed that the first thing he had done on his return from Neverland had been to change out of the leather. She’d been quite looking forward to exploring it. With any luck he hadn’t got rid of it entirely.

She turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

“What do you mean, next time? Are you all planning to go on another trip to another realm to rescue Henry any time soon?”

Rumpel shook his head. “No, absolutely not. I think we’ve all had enough of portals and realm-jumping to last us a lifetime, and I daresay that Henry has had more than enough of needing to be rescued. No, I was merely thinking of the next time that the mayoral election is held. The post isn’t held in perpetuity. There’ll need to be elections soon enough. Although Regina’s always run unopposed before, that doesn’t mean that she has to next time.”

Belle stopped, looking at him.

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been as sure about anything before,” Rumpel said earnestly. “You may only have been mayor for a day, but I think that you definitely looked at home in that office. If people voted you in yesterday, who’s to say that they won’t vote you in again in another year’s time when the time for re-election comes around?”

“I don’t know… I mean, it’s not the same going up against Regina herself.”

“I think that you can do it,” Rumpel said. “I’m sure that Leroy would be happy to run your election campaign again. You can do anything if you put your mind to it, Belle. Look at me. You tamed this beast, after all. I think that you can tame this town without any problems.”

Belle smiled, slipping her arms around his middle and kissing him.

“Thank you,” she said. “It’s so good to have your support.”

“I love you, Belle. You’ll always have my support in whatever you choose to do, and I really think that you can do this.”

Belle kissed him again.

“I love you too.”


End file.
